The event space and lounge at JLABS @Toronto resembles an ultra modern living room, stylishly decorated in purple and orange. Not exactly what you’d expect to see in a 40,000-sq. ft. life sciences incubator, but the lounge is just the beginning. The rest of the facility is made up of shared office and laboratory space that includes a chemical lab, biology labs, tissue culture and private cell culture facilities, a device and digital prototype lab, and a concept lab.

JLABS @ Toronto is the brainchild of Johnson & Johnson Innovation and the sixth of its kind. The other five JLABS locations are scattered throughout the U.S., in San Diego, San Francisco (two), Boston and Houston. Altogether, the JLABS facilities can house a total of 225 resident companies. The Toronto location, in its facility on the 13th floor of the west tower at the MaRS Discovery District building, has the capacity to house up to 50 startups. JLABS @Toronto officially opened on May 11 with 22 companies. That’s the most companies JLABS has had at an opening, says Melinda Richter, Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation JLABS, and there is space for about 28 more.

Guest Editorial

Faith HEALING

Guest Editorial by Robert Price

After his stroke in 2014, Gordie Howe, the hockey legend who died in June at the age of 88, flew to Mexico to have himself injected with stem cells. According to media reports, Howe’s health improved enough following the injections for him to make a public appearance.

Howe is one of the more notable people who sought stem cell treatment outside
Canada. To read reports about medical tourism, one might assume the experimental treatments happening in other parts of the world are the salvation the sick and dying hope for. We might have similar luck dipping a toe into holy water. Both are faith healing.

Story by Mark Saner

More often than not, accidents in laboratories can be prevented and, with the proper precautions and by wearing the right personal protective equipment (PPE), severe injuries can often be avoided or minimized.

SPECTROPHOTOMETER IS IDEAL FOR BASIC LAB MEASUREMENTSBiochrom’s Novaspec III is the company’s latest addition to its Novaspec Visible Spectrophotometer range.

FILTRATION SYSTEM OFFERS CONTAMINATION-FREE RESULTS The Claristep filtration system from Sartorius enables up to eight samples to be simultaneously filtered without any power supply or a vacuum pressure source.